Conditions

How many times have you seen corbina but couldn't get them to look at your bait? Those fish are cruisers. They are like the shoppers that are "just looking". Unless there is observable feeding activity, throwing bait at cruisers is unlikely to result in a hook-up. Sometimes a prime bait (soft shelled ripe sand crab) will entice a cruiser like a special sale will turn a looker into a buyer. More often than not, it is best to bide your time for eventually, those cruisers will become active feeders. When they do, be persistent. Never give up on active fish. As long as the fish has not been spooked and is still feeding, you have a shot at it.

Many fishers want to know what tide is best for corbina. My experience tells me that it isn't so much whether the tide is incoming or going out. It isn't so much time of day or night (they do bite at night). For me, the critical factors are how much water is covering the holes and troughs plus the location of the crab beds relative to the holes and troughs. When a crab bed is just shoreward of a trough and there is a foot of water covering the trough the conditions are perfect. The corbina can stay in the relative safety of the deeper water in the trough. Mild wave action on the crab bed pulls bait into the trough. The fish have easy access to food and escape routes. The time to fish with the most effort is when you encounter these ideal conditions.